Classification and evolution 4.3 Flashcards
Why do humans classify living things?
- for our convenience
- makes the study of living things more manageable
- makes it easier to identify organisms
- helps us see the relationships between species
How many levels does the current system of classification use?
8 taxonomic levels
What are the 8 taxonomic levels called?
- domain
- kingdom
- phylum
- class
- order
- family
- genus
- species
What are the three domains?
- archaea
- eubacteria
- eukaryotae
What are the 5 main kingdoms?
- plantae
- animalia
- fungi
- protoctista
- prokaryotes
What is the phylum classification?
It is the major subdivision of the kingdom and contains all the groups of organisms that have the same body plan
What is the class classification?
A group of organisms tha all poses the same general traits (same number of legs)
What is the order classification?
A subdivision of class using additional info about the organisms (class mammal divided into order carnivora or order herbivora)
What is the family classification?
A group of closely related gena (withing order carnivora, dog and cat family)
What is the genus classification?
A group of closely related species
What is the species classification?
The basic unit of classification, all members show variation but are all essentially the same
What is classification?
The process of placing living things into groups
What happens as you desend to the lower taxonomic groups?
It becomes increasingly difficult to separate closely related species accurately and a very detailed description of the species is needed
What is the binomial naming system?
A system that uses the genus name and yje species name to avoid confusion when naming organisms
What does binomial mean?
Two names
Who divised the binomial system?
Carl linnaeus
Why does using common names not work well?
- different common names are used in different countries
- translation of languages may give different names
- same organisms have completely different common names in different parts of one country
- same common name might be used for different species in other parts of the world
What is a species?
A group of organisms that can freely interbreed to produce fertile offspring
What is the phylogenetic definition of a species?
A group of individual organisms that are very similar in appearance, anatomy, physiology, biochemistry and genetics
What are the characersitics of prokaryota?
What are the characteristics of protoctista?
What are the characteristics of fungi?
What are the characteristics of plantae?
What are the characteristics of animalia?
What is convergent evolution?
When two unrelated species adapt in similar ways
How does biological molecules help with classification?
They help determin how closely related one species is to another due to unique differences in large biological molecules which have changed due to evolution
What is cytochrome c?
A protein used in respiration that all living organisms that respire contain
Explain how biological molecules show how closely related species are to eachother
Two organisms with similar molecules will be closely related as they have not evolved separately for long and the other way round
Explain how cytochrom c shows the relationships between species
Cytochrome c is not identical in every species and the sequence of amino acids can be compared, the more differences between the sequence the less closely related the species are